CRIME CHECK FOUNDATION CALLS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF CHIEF INSPECTOR OF PRISONS

Image result for ibrahim oppong kwarteng
Ibrahaim Oppong Kwarteng, Executive Director, CCF

THE Crime Check Foundation (CCF), an advocacy group centred on projecting the welfare of prisoners, has called for the establishment of the office of the Chief Inspector of Prisons as an independent body to steer the affairs of the Ghana Prison Service (GPS).

At a press conference in Accra last Tuesday, the Executive Director of the CCF, Mr Ibrahaim Oppong Kwarteng observed that the current structures, which he said required the Director General of the GPS to work under the Minister of Interior, hindered an effective supervision of the institution.

According to him, the Minister of Interior was burdened with other supervisory duties, hence the need for an independent office whose mandate would be to focus on the operations of the GPS and ensure its efficiency.

“The office which will be insulated from political control will ensure that the Chief Inspector of Prisons conduct periodic visits to the Prisons report on conditions and treatments and bring to the attention of the government the realities on the ground”

“We believe that the office will help fast track the needed reforms in the criminal justice system and position the GPS as a purely correctional institution,” he stated.

Privatisation
Mr Kwarteng further called for the involvement of the private sector in the running of some prisons in the country to complement government’s reformation and rehabilitation agenda.
He said the move had become necessary due to the “inhuman” treatments such as poor meals suffered by the inmates as a result of the inadequate funding for the operations of the GPS.

Amnesty
As part of efforts to decongest the country’s prisons, Mr Kwarteng called on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to exercise his Prerogative of Mercy as enshrined in Article 71(1) of the 1992 Constitution and grant amnesty to deserving prisoners.

According to him, although the law did not provide timelines as to when such provisions in the law should be fulfilled, the “crowded” state of the country’s prisons was worrying, hence the need for the President to “urgently” exercise that power offered him by the constitution.

“Unfortunately, since coming into office, the President is yet to grant amnesty to prisoners. As much as the granting of the amnesty is a prerogative exercised by him alone, we believe that the current state of our prisons call for an amnesty,” he said.

Smuggling of substances
Mr Kwarteng, however, expressed worry at the rate at which substances such as marijuana, and cigarette which, he said, were smuggled into the prisons and sold to inmates and called on the GPS to strengthen security at the various prisons.

He said the practice, if not eradicated with immediate effect, would not only tarnish the image of the GPS but would also defeat the purpose for which the prisons were established.
“It is surprising that in the 21st Century when most prisons use scanners to prevent the smuggling of illegal items into prisons, our 42 prisons lack the requisite gadgets to effectively detect contrabands,” he stated.

Physically and mentally challenged
Mr Kwarteng further indicated that he had encountered some mentally and physically challenged persons who had been slapped with custodial sentences as part of his visit to some prisons in the country.

He said the decision infringed on the rights of such persons and called for a thorough assessment of the mental and physical statuses of suspected criminals before they were incarcerated.

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